UN: Yemen peace talks close

Govt-Houthi negotiations crucial as country on verge of famine

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations is close to creating conditions for the start of peace talks in Sweden between Yemen’s warring parties in December but there is no agreement yet, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The UN chief told reporters this is “a very crucial moment in relation to Yemen”.

UN envoy Martin Griffiths has been engaged in shuttle diplomacy, talking to Yemen’s internationally recognised government backed by a Saudi-led coalition and Houthi Syiah rebels who control the capital Sanaa, Guterres said.

The current diplomatic initiative is being driven by the increasing threat of famine in Yemen, but also by international outrage over the murder of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Oct 2 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul which has put a spotlight on Saudi Arabia’s role in the country’s war.

Griffiths announced on Nov 16 that the warring parties had agreed to attend talks.

He initially tried to bring the government and Houthis together in early September, but the Houthis didn’t show up in Geneva, saying they did not have guarantees for their safe return.

Guterres said Wednesday: “I believe there is a chance to be able to start effective negotiations in Sweden early in December, but we are not yet there.”

He said starting talks “would be an extremely important objective”.

“If we are able to stop the war, we will stop the most tragic humanitarian disaster in today’s world.”

The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of the capital of Sanaa by the Iranian-backed Houthis, which toppled the government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Houthis since 2015.

Saudi-led airstrikes have hit schools, hospitals and wedding parties, and the Houthis have fired missiles into Saudi Arabia and targeted vessels in the Red Sea.

Tens of thousands of people are believed to have been killed in the war and UN food agency chief David Beasley said last week that as many as 12 million of the 28 million Yemenis “are just one step away from famine.”